Eve Muirhead's all-Scottish rink, playing opponents they had beaten to become world champions last year and lost to in the subsequent European Championship final, found themselves 3-0 down after three ends at the Ice Cube Curling Center, but battled back well, securing a point in each of the next three to draw level.

The Swedes then regained the lead with two in the seventh and, after GB replied to make it 5-4 in the eighth, Margaretha Sigfridsson's rink completed the job by claiming another point in the ninth.

Skip Muirhead - who, like GB men's counterpart David Murdoch this morning, led her team on to the ice behind a group of Russian bagpipers playing Scotland the Brave - said after the contest: "It's always disappointing to lose the first match.

"It was always going to be a tough one against the current European champions, world runners-up and one of the favourites out here.

"But the game could have gone either way.

"We got off to a bit of a slow start, managed to claw it back to all-square and then they played a fantastic shot in the seventh end that gave them that step ahead.

"But it is a marathon and not a sprint, that is only one out of nine (round-robin matches) and I'm definitely not too disheartened.

"We played really well in the middle part of the game and if we can take that to the next game tomorrow. It's a new day and we'll definitely step it up."

She added: "I'm a perfectionist - one of those players who is super-competitive. I really don't like losing and I'm harsh on myself.

"There were a few shots out there where it was not really like me to miss. But we girls all pull together and support each other."

After GB's men beat Russia 7-4 in their opening fixture on Monday morning, Murdoch suggested that the noise of the crowd cheering at the arena might have been to the hosts' detriment, putting them off.

Russia's women were playing at the same time as GB's, and Muirhead admitted the din from the stands had certainly created problems for her rink.

"The crowd is crazy out there and that is one thing - I think at the start of the game there were a few miscommunications," the 23-year-old said.

"You have to use a lot of hand signals out there, because there's no way you can hear each other. When Russia play a good shot or their opponents miss a shot - the crowd go wild.

"So tomorrow we know we'll have to do that if Russia are playing, but these are all things we have learned from this first draw, and there are lots of things we'll take from today to make it better."

Team Muirhead take on the United States in their next fixture on Tuesday evening.